Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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20 S C T / J U N E 2 0 1 7 S T O R E F R O N T S The everything store Low-cost housewares-and-accessories chain Miniso sells about 10,000 different products, for about $5 each, on average By María Bird Picó M iniso may owe its name in part to the minimart format, but this purveyor of discount housewares, beauty products, inexpensive jewelry, electronic accessories and lots of other items is anything but mini when it comes to product range — or to the span of its global growth. A Miniso store offers some 10,000 products across the various categories, with the average price per item being about $5. As for growth, since its establishment only four years ago, Miniso has opened about 1,800 stores worldwide and is aiming for 6,000 by 2020. Further, the chain posted nearly $1.6 billion in sales last year and intends to more than quintuple that to $9 billion over the same time span. Co-founded by Japanese designer Junya Miyake and Chinese entre- preneur Ye Guo Fu, Miniso employs roughly 30 product designers in Japan, and its wares are sourced and manufactured in China, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. The chain was first established in Japan, where it currently operates only four stores, while there are roughly 1,100 in China. The first U.S. Miniso store opened in California's Old Pasadena business district in April. "We have had a tremendous response to the Miniso recently opened its first U.S. store, and plans to have 50 here by the end of 2018 first U.S. store," said Ben Yu, COO of Miniso U.S. "Popular products include perfumes and colognes, dolls, purses and totes, household items and elec- tronic accessories." Unlike in most other markets, where Miniso is franchised, stores in the U.S. will be company-owned. "This is a new market, so we are in listening mode to discover and provide better services and the right product mix in the future," Yu said. The company has aggressive growth plans for the U.S., involving first California and Texas, with a fo- cus on major metro areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas, Yu